I frequently get asked “what’s there to dive in Nashville?”  This article aims to shed some light on living in any inland city and still pursuing deep, technical diving as a hobby.

 

Are there any technical diving sites near Nashville?

The dive sites near Nashville have depths associated with tech diving, but it will be cold at the bottom of the lake or quarry.  Even in the summer months, deep dives in local quarries offer temperatures in the mid  40°s so a diver must have a dry suit, dry gloves, a thick hood,  and some tolerance for very cold water.  There is a growing technical diver scene in Nashville and even more so in the surrounding counties in Middle TN.  While it’s not uncommon to see double tanks, decompression cylinders, scooters and rebreathers at our favorite quarry’s, local dive sites are predominately used by recreational level divers and dive shops teaching open water courses.   It’s safe to say we would all prefer a 200′ wall dive in Bonaire or scootering the flight deck of the USS Oriskany, but in between those amazing dives we keep skills sharp diving some of local flooded rock quarries.  I personally like to practice technical diving skills in the deep, cold and dark quarry environment.  If you can perform cylinder rotations, gas switches or precision ascents wearing extremely thick dry suit undergarments and dry gloves, it just gets easier when you get to warmer, clearer water.  A local favorite for technical diving is Pennyroyal Scuba Center, a quarry with a max depth of 112′.  Its not a very deep site but there’s lots to see in the deeper sections and its a great place to train and dive for fun, if you can brave the cold temperatures.

 

So travel is required?

Yes, but consider that tech divers who live in South Florida often travel to other locations to dive, just like divers who live in inland cities like Nashville.  Sure the people who live local to amazing tech diving sites  have the advantage of convenience, but they lack options without travelling.  The drive from Miami to Chicago is 21+ hours.  That’s a long way to hit some deep freshwater wrecks.  It takes longer to drive to Pensacola from Miami than it does from Nashville.  There are advantages of being centrally located to many deep diving destinations, if the weather is bad on the gulf coast, just head further south, or East, or North.  There are dozens of technical diving sites within an 8 hour drive of Nashville, and hundreds more within 10 hours.  Also, Nashville has direct flights to many of the best Technical diving scenes in the US and Caribbean.

 

Is there support for technical divers in Nashville?

Its no secret that inland dive shops lack support for technical diving operations.  If you walk into the average PADI shop and ask for a trimix  or oxygen fill, its doubtful that they can accommodate. Technical divers love our tanks to be …more than full.  Getting anything more than the cylinders rated pressure is not likely to happen which can be a problem for divers used to legit gas fills.  As far as gear goes, it’s hit or miss.  You’ll see some backplate and wing options and maybe a Shearwater Perdix or 2 but ask for 02 sensors, stage cylinder rigging, or drysuit repair and you’ll likely get a blank stare.  I like to buy gear from the dive shops that take care of me, local or out of state.  If the local dive shops don’t specialize in the gear you need, don’t hesitate to reach out to out of state shops that do!   Extreme exposure, Cave Country Dive Shop, Force E scuba, and Dive Pro’s are shops I can count on for gas fills and support when teaching technical diving courses in Florida. A good option is to reach out to local technical divers and ask them how they manage gas fills, gear rentals and other support in their area.

Technical dive training in Tennessee?

You bet! There’s a number of technical diving instructors in the Nashville area.  There’s some key advantages to taking a technical diving course locally, even though you’ll have to travel out of town for the final dives.  Depending on the season, some of the shallow water dives can be completed locally which saves time and money.  The classroom portion of technical diving courses can be completed locally as well.  When it comes time to apply those skills to deeper dives, we have options on which locations to complete them.  Weather, charter boat schedules, student preferences, budget and type of course all dictate where the final dives take place.  Nashville is so close to so many great dive sites, we usually incorporate 3 or 4 sites into a course, which affords students some diversity in their training as opposed to every dive of the course taking place in same environment.

 

If you want to pursue Technical diving, don’t let your location stop you.  There are accomplished tech divers all over the place, you don’t have to live near the ocean to join the elite ranks of tech divers.